The thing can be called a portent, but calling the thing starter a portenter sounds strange.
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ZootJan 14 '13 at 16:27

3

In tech we use "early adopter," although there's no implication that others have yet followed suit.
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editorJan 14 '13 at 18:38

I just wanted to tack on a blog post I saw related to this topic, which poses some terminology specifically dealing with the notion of subcultures. It isn't strictly what's meant, here, but it definitely addresses a subset of the topic: meaningness.com/metablog/geeks-mops-sociopaths
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abathurMay 31 at 15:33

14 Answers
14

The other answers on this page have a couple other fine suggestions — and a thesaurus lookup turns up more suggestions still —, but be aware that some of them require additional quali­fication. For example, it's typically "a harbinger of something", or "a precursor to something". So you won't be able to just say "he is a harbinger" and leave it at that; likewise, "he is a pre­cursor" will only raise questions if no further context is supplied. "He is a trendsetter", on the other hand, is perfectly self-explanatory and self-sufficient.

Pioneer is the word for that, but in this particular example, it may not be a good fit. Pioneer carries a positive emotion, and I would not use it for something perceived as negative (like staying late at work).

A bellwether is any entity in a given arena that serves to create
or influence trends or to presage future happenings.

The term is derived from the Middle English bellewether and refers to
the practice of placing a bell around the neck of a castrated ram (a
wether) leading his flock of sheep. The movements of the flock could
be noted by hearing the bell before the flock was in sight.

I have never heard a bellwether used in the context of a person. The modern usage with which I am familiar is when describing the long bond, which is the 30-year maturity U.S. Treasury bond. The T-bond, or 10 year T-note are bellwether securities. If you know of another use, applicable to a person, I would be very curious for details. Bellwether is a great word.
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Ellie KesselmanJan 15 '13 at 5:05

This is specifically the sense in which Connie Willis uses the word in her book Bellwether: a habitual, effortless trendsetter.
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librikJan 15 '13 at 7:59

I'm still searching, can only find bellwether as a trend indicator, or bellwether stocks, or in the context of a news information source. Dictionary definitions say "entity" or "person" but I can't find examples of such.
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Ellie KesselmanJan 15 '13 at 7:59

@librik No, I don't think so. I checked several blurbs for Bellwether, as well as the article precis in Wikipedia. The novel involves scientists experimenting with sheep as bellwethers for deriving a forecasting methodology, applicable to human behavior. According to plot summaries of the book, human beings are bellwethers only in the sense that fads are started by a person or persons in the crowd, who without conscious intent or realization, happen to be a little ahead of the rest.
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Ellie KesselmanJan 15 '13 at 8:08

OK, if you haven't read the book, you won't know the punchline: there is one wacky young woman who, just following her own inclinations, ends up as the leading edge for all the fads in the story. If Pippa's doing it now, everyone else will be doing it soon. She's the Bellwether of the title.
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librikJan 15 '13 at 8:16

I felt the need to float "Innovator" given editor's suggestion of "early adopter", mostly to make clear that, within frameworks for understanding adoption rates, innovators are generally considered to be the first to adopt the innovation and are themselves followed by the early adopters. Innovators cast the die or blaze the trail, and early adopters may or may not follow. There's a media-related term (particularly in advertising/marketing/PR) "opinion leader" which is used as part of the theoretical construct for how new innovations spread. It may also be useful in this case for explaining the idea that people who aren't directly involved in the act of innovating are perceived as a more-reliable (i.e., impartial) bellwether by the average eventual adopter.

Welcome to ELU! It would be helpful if you could edit your answer to include a definition from a dictionary that fits the OP's word request. Any examples of your word in a quote would be welcome also.
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Kristina LopezJan 15 '13 at 5:25

I like precursor as a choice! I think of it primarily in the context of chemistry though. As @KristinaLopez said, it would be great to have a definition, and if possible, an example of precursor used in context as part of your answer.
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Ellie KesselmanJan 15 '13 at 7:55

@FeralOink Precursors also occur in literature and movies and the likes.
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tchristJan 15 '13 at 11:59

Avant-garde ([...] from French, “advance guard” or “vanguard”[1]) is a French term used in English as a noun or adjective to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics.

Avant-garde represents a pushing of the boundaries of what is accepted as the norm or the status quo, primarily in the cultural realm…

The last sentence suggests that the behavior of the avant-garde is eventually followed by at least some people.